A struggle in the basement
by Bullet'sSharpStar
Summary: Peeta awakes in the basement of Tigris' shop and struggles with his memories, trying to find out what's real and what's not.  A different POV from the fan fic of a good friend: /s/7453459/1/Some Things Are Better Than Sleep


I hear a moan and it reminds me that I am in the basement of Tigris' shop. I assume someone is having a nightmare. It is something that the games have done to us. We wake from our nightmares to realize they are true. Our reality is just one big nightmare. The faces of people we have lost, the haziness of memories that I do not know if they are real or not. The constant threat to your life is exhausting. Yet somehow, no amount of sleep is ever enough.

I realize in the midst of my thoughts, whispering has begun. I slowly tilt my head to see who could not sleep. I realize that it is Cressida and Katniss. Cressida is sitting up and Katniss has a hand on her back. Cressida must have had the nightmare that woke me. I watch Katniss comfort the distraught woman for a minute before turning back around. The image of Katniss comforting someone hurts my head. How can she be so dangerous? She seems so nice to me. Memories flash between my eyes and I struggle to remain in control of them. Snow has figured out to make memories control you, or so he thinks, but I can fight this.

I bury my face into my pelt and force myself to think of Katniss. I see a small malnourished girl walk towards me. Her clothes are tattered and dirty. She has a loaf of burnt bread in her hand. She smiles at me, making my heart leap. I feel a blush enter my face as the girls clothes begin to fall off her. However, when they fall away, a beautiful jewel covered dress is revealed and the girl has aged. She is no longer malnourished, but curvy and beautiful. My blush begins to burn and cause pain to my face. I hear pans crashing and shouts behind me. I begin to turn toward the noise when I see Katniss start to run at me from the corner of my eye. I turn back toward her and her face has contorted into some monstrous mutt's face. The bread has changed into a dagger and she has it poised above her head ready for a deathly blow. I become afraid instantly and then rage fills me. I will not let Snow change Katniss into a mutt. I must kill this Katniss mutt in her honor. She would never have wanted this fate.

I fill myself rising from my pelt with murderous intentions when I realize that this is just apart of the nightmare. I throw myself back to the floor and bang my head against the concrete. The ache of the impact begins to overtake the rage of the false memory. Katniss is not a mutt. I lay there for a few seconds and I decide to prove to myself that she is real. I turn my head, but Katniss is not sitting where she was before. I see a hunched over creature with brown fur where they once sat. The thought of a mutt getting to her causes fear to rise in my throat. I open my mouth but no words come out. I cannot move or think. Katniss is lost to me.

Just as I start glancing around for something to do, I see a hand. As I look closer, I realize there is no mutt. It is just a pelt draped over somebody. They look to be hunched over, and I cannot make out what exactly they are doing, or whom 'they' might be. I wonder if Katniss went to go get something for Cressida and left her here. She must be in some terrible agony to be hidden under a pelt, and I am not sure what, but maybe having some kind of mental break down.

I want to reach out to her and ask her if she is okay, but I would not know what to say. I do not know what is causing this. She was not in the games; she was not tortured or hijacked as I was. At least that I know of. I do not say a word. I watch the hump of fur move this way and that. I hear slight moans coming from underneath. I feel sorry for Cressida and I suddenly want Katniss to hurry back from wherever she has gone. I cannot imagine it would be safe for her to leave the basement, but obviously, Cressida needs help. The fur stops moving for a while, and soon I see a head peak out. Cressida's hair is wet and her face glistens with what I guess is sweat from what I can see. My heart rate quickens when I see that she is without a shirt. I want to turn away, but I cannot. My face burns as I make my way down her chest. Her nipples are hard and I cannot understand why. It is not cold in here, and under her pelt, it must have been really hot.

I watch her smile down at something and slide over on her pelt. I move my eyes back to the pelt to see Katniss emerge as well. The fur slides past her face as she gasps for fresh air. The pelt continues to move down her neck and expose her collarbone. I feel heat rising up from within me as I try to look away, but more and more the fur comes away from her body and soon her breasts are exposed. I had pictured seeing Katniss like this for a long time. I never imagined that she would be beneath another woman and not me. Katniss smiles at Cressida before looking around at everyone else. I quickly shut my eyes and try to figure out what I just saw.


End file.
